N.Y. Assemblyman, 4 Others Accused of Corruption

By

Erica Orden

April 4, 2013 10:55 a.m. ET

A New York state Assemblyman and four others were charged Thursday morning with bribery and conspiracy, according to the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, and hours later a second Assemblyman who said he cooperated with the federal government on the case announced his intention to resign from office.

Four of the five charged, including the Assemblyman Eric Stevenson, a Democrat from the Bronx, were arrested Thursday morning, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office, with the fifth expected to surrender later in the day.

Mr. Stevenson is accused of drafting, proposing and agreeing to enact legislation for the purpose of benefiting the businesses of his co-defendants in the case, according to the complaint and of accepting more than $22,000 in bribes in exchange for helping the other defendants open and operate adult day-care centers in the Bronx.

ENLARGE

Eric Stevenson speaks during a rally last year.
PJ Smith for The Wall Street Journal

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A person who answered the phone at Mr. Stevenson's district office said: "I know nothing about that." The person declined to provide his full name. Mr. Stevenson was awaiting arraignment and could not immediately be reached for comment. It was unclear who his attorney was.

Thursday's charges come two days after federal corruption charges against another Albany politician, state Sen. Malcolm Smith, a Democrat, who was arrested Tuesday morning alongside New York City Council Member Dan Halloran, a Republican, and four others in wide-ranging corruption schemes that, in part, allegedly were designed to get Mr. Smith on the ballot for the New York City mayor's race. The defendants have all denied wrongdoing in the case.

"Once again we have members of the legislature allegedly acting as mercenaries," said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. "Once again we are forced to consider how pervasive corruption is in New York and once again we are provided something of an answer from the defendant himself."

In September 2012, Mr. Stevenson met two of the defendants and a cooperating witness in the Bronx, where one of the defendants handed the lawmaker an envelope containing $10,000 in cash, the complaint says. In January 2013, the complaint says, Mr. Stevenson showed the cooperating witness a draft of proposed legislation for the Assembly based on a discussion the witness had had with another one of the defendants.

Two of the defendants aside from Mr. Stevenson are charged with bribing another Assemblyman who was cooperating with the government at the time. That Assemblyman was unnamed in the complaint, but later identified as Nelson Castro, a Democrat from the Bronx.

Later on Thursday, Mr. Castro announced his intention to resign from his seat effective Monday, saying he had been indicted before his election to the Assembly by a Bronx County grand jury in 2009 for committing perjury in a 2008 civil matter, and then had agreed to cooperate on various investigations with the Bronx District Attorney's Office and the U.S. attorney's office. The agreement was contingent on his resignation following the arrests of the individuals charged in the complaint.

"I am very proud of my accomplishments and the many benefits that I have secured on behalf of my district over the last four years," Mr. Castro said in a statement released by his attorney, Michael Farkas.

Mr. Castro's open seat may result in a special election. Once Mr. Castro's resignation takes effect, Gov. Andrew Cuomo can decide whether to issue an executive order calling for a special election. Once that order is issued, the election must take place between 70 and 80 days from that date.

The cooperating witness was previously a candidate for the Assembly, and had pleaded guilty to a scheme to bribe the unnamed Assemblyman, according to the complaint.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called on Mr. Stevenson to resign, saying the allegations against him "are a clear violation of the public trust and cannot be tolerated."

"I believe that given the evidence that has been presented, he should seriously consider whether he can continue to maintain the public trust," Mr. Silver said. "I am encouraging him to resign."

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